Michael Jackson performs during the halftime show at the Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena, Calif. The Super Bowl show can easily be divided into two eras: before and after Michael Jackson. His 1993 performance established halftime as something more than an afterthought. With the fireworks and extras, Jackson proved no gesture could be too big. (File photo by Rusty Kennedy, Associated Press)

On Feb. 1, 2004, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson are seen during their performance prior to the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” during the half time performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston. Timberlake will headline the Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 4, 2018, in Minnesota. (AP Photo/David Phillip)

The Edge, left, Bono, center, and Adam Clayton, right, of U2 perform during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome on Feb. 3, 2002 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Justin Timberlake will set at least as two records when he takes the field for the Super Bowl LII halftime show on Sunday. The pop-R&B star will become the first artist to appear in three different Super Bowls for one thing.

And he’ll also become the first to get invited back after being an unindicted co-conspirator in the infamous “wardrobe malfunction,” as his role in baring the breast of Janet Jackson during the 2004 halftime show was euphemistically known.

We’re sure of very little about the Super Bowl on Sunday – the Philadelphia Eagles really could win this thing all you (over)-confident New England Patriots fans should know – but you can bet Tom Brady’s stolen game jersey there’ll be no Nipplegate II during Timberlake’s performance. He might bring sexy back, but not that much.

Exactly what Timberlake has planned for the performance has been kept tightly under wraps, though there’s sure to be a new song in his mini-set given that the singer-songwriter’s fifth solo album, “Man of the Woods,” arrives on Friday, Feb. 2.

Will it be an all-Timberlake show similar to Lady Gaga’s halftime show a year ago, or feature guest stars as has often been the practice in Super Bowls past? Our money is that a guest or two will show up. Chris Stapleton and Alicia Keys are both featured on the new album, and he’s worked with artists such as Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams on previous collections.

And where will it rank among the all-time best Super Bowl halftime shows. We’ve got high hopes given that Timberlake continues a run of more modern Super Bowl performers such as Gaga, Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Bruno Mars, and a continued move away from the older icons of rock such as Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones.

Time will tell. For now, let’s go to the list of the Top 10 halftime shows of the first 51 years of the Super Bowl.

10. Katy Perry: This was one was like having Lucky Charms for dinner. Fun, colorful, and so what if it’s not all that nutritious? Perry rode onto the field for halftime of Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 atop a strange, gigantic lion puppet, held a beach party dance-off during “Teenage Dream” that led to fame for Left Shark, who’s still dining out on his fame with a feature on NPR this week.

Bruno Mars performs during the halftime show of the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, in East Rutherford, N.J. (Photo by Julio Cortez, Associated Press)

9 Bruno Mars: Bruno and Beyoncé both showed up during Coldplay’s halftime show at Super Bowl 50 – giving B&B two appearances each but it was his headlining turn in 2014 that really let him shine. On songs such as “Locked Out of Heaven” and “Runaway Baby” he brought a sound both fresh and classic and most of all fun.

8 Madonna: The Material Girl delivered the goods during halftime of Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. Her set kicked off the age of big production values, with the kinds of props and costumes and dancers you’d get at a Madonna show. And guest performer M.I.A.’s middle finger salute on TV is probably the second-most controversial thing to happen in a halftime show.

In this Jan. 31, 1993 file picture, Michael Jackson performs during the halftime show at the Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena, Calif. The Super Bowl show can easily be divided into two eras: before and after Michael Jackson. His 1993 performance established halftime as something more than an afterthought. With the fireworks and extras, Jackson proved no gesture could be too big. (File photo by Rusty Kennedy, Associated Press)

7. Michael Jackson: The King of Pop preceded his little sister to the Super Bowl stage, arriving there in 1993 in a burst of fireworks before working his magic on the crowd at the Rose Bowl. This is really when the Super Bowl halftime started to become something worth staying in front of the TV to watch, following years of marching bands and cheesy performers such as Up With People.

Janet Jackson, left, covers her breast after her outfit came undone during the half time performance with Justin Timberlake at Super Bowl XXXVIII between the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots in Houston, Sunday Feb. 1, 2004. (File photo by David Phillip, the Associated Press)

6. Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake: P. Diddy, Nelly and Kid Rock also performed during this halftime show but no one remembers that after the Janet and Justin finale exposed her metallic nipple shield – three words we’ve only ever typed in the context of this halftime show in 2004. Still is absolutely the most talked-about halftime performance in history.

5. U2: The four Irishmen of U2 were exactly what the United States needed in 2002 just a few months after the terror attacks of 9 /11. It was an emotionally rousing, cathartic performance at America’s national party, with the names of the victims scrolling on a giant screen as U2 played. Still has to be the most emotionally resonant halftime show of them all.

Lady Gaga performs at halftime of the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 5, 2017 in Houston, TX. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)

4. Lady Gaga: The new entry on our list, last year Gaga showed the world that she’s not a meat-dress-wearing weirdo anymore but an all-around entertainer who can start the show on the roof of the stadium, then descend a cable to the stage (and so what if that part was pre-recorded, it was still a thrill), before blazing through a powerhouse performance of her irresistible pop-rock hits. The lady can bring it, and she did.

3. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: OK, sure, the Boss’ crotch frightened a nation of viewers when he slid down the stage and into your home, but the pairing of Springsteen and the E Street Band – RIP, Clarence Clemons – with the all-American traditions of the Super Bowl made this halftime in 2009 a true winner.

In this Feb. 3, 2013 file photo, Beyonce performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, in New Orleans. (File photo by Mark Humphrey, Associated Press)

2. Beyoncé: Queen B made the Top 10 the year after her Super Bowl debut in 2013, because Bey is the fiercest of the fierce and she’s not going to let you forget it or her. The choreography was tight, the reunion with Destiny’s Child, though they were limited to back-up dancers mostly, was exciting. Add to that that this represented a shift to the modern and away from the legends of the past, and suddenly the Super Bowl was … hip?

Prince performs during the halftime show at the Super Bowl XLI football game at Dolphin Stadium in Miami on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

1. Prince: Every year some acts move up and down and out of the Top 10 – say so long to Coldplay this year – but Prince’s halftime set at Super Bowl XLI in 2007 will not budge from our top spot. It would have been a classic simply for the songs he played, a sampling of his own hits (“Let’s Go Crazy,” “Baby I’m a Star”) and covers. After CGI lightening bolts opened the show, an actual downpour arrived – and intensified as he played “Purple Rain” – capping off a halftime show for the ages.

Peter Larsen has been the Pop Culture Reporter for the Orange County Register since 2004, finally achieving the neat trick of getting paid to report and write about the stuff he's obsessed about pretty much all his life. He regularly covers the Oscars and the Emmys, goes to Comic-Con and Coachella, reviews pop music, and conducts interviews with authors and actors, musicians and directors, a little of this and a whole lot of that. He grew up, in order, in California, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oregon. Graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. with degrees in English and Communications. Earned a master's degree at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Earned his first newspaper paycheck at the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat, fled the Midwest for Los Angeles Daily News and finally ended up at the Orange County Register. He's taught one or two classes a semester in the journalism and mass communications department at Cal State Long Beach since 2006. Somehow managed to get a lovely lady to marry him, and with her have two daughters. And a dog named Buddy. Never forget the dog.